A year ago, a resort and conference centre in Stanhope, P.E.I., burned
to the ground. North Shore Fire Chief Bob Morrison described the scene,
the challenges – including high winds – and the lessons learned to
editor Laura King in an interview during the 2013 Maritime Fire Chiefs
Association conference in Summerside last July.

One of the perks of this job is the travel to conferences and trade
shows across the country that allows me to visit towns and cities and
get to know firefighters and fire officers from coast to coast to coast.

Jan. 28, 2014, Toronto – There has been lots of talk of sprinklers in the days since the fire in a seniors home in L’Isle-Verte, Que., killed as many as 32 people. That’s good. It’s also tragic that more people had to die before Quebec politicians started talking seriously about better fire-protection measures for vulnerable citizens. But sprinklers alone won’t solve the problem.

Jan. 24,
2014, Toronto – A CBC reporter called me yesterday – one of a handful of
reporters looking for background for stories about the tragic fire in L’Isle-Verte
in which at least five seniors were killed.

Dec. 19, 2013, Toronto – I happened to be in Ottawa on the weekend when two university students were killed in a house fire. Those two fatalities and three more in Loyalist Township on the weekend brought the number of fire fatalities in Ontario this year to 72, eight more than in the same period last year (not including fire fatalities on First Nations).

Dec. 19, 2013, Toronto – I happened to be in Ottawa on the weekend when two university students were killed in a house fire. Those two fatalities and three more in Loyalist Township on the weekend brought the number of fire fatalities in Ontario this year to 72, three more than in the same period last year (not including fire fatalities on First Nations).

Nov. 28, 2013, Toronto – Ah, technology. I was a bit under the weather on the weekend after three days in Niagara Falls for the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs mid-term meeting; I blame it on the perpetual mist in the air – the spray from the falls that coats your eye glasses and car windshield – but I’m sure lack of sleep (does anyone sleep well in hotels?), too many handshakes, and re-circulated air had something to do with it.

Nov. 19, 2013, Niagara Falls, Ont. - By the time you read this I will be well caffeinated and sitting in a conference room with fire chiefs from across Ontario learning about the integrated risk management (IRM) system.

Nov. 12, 2013, Toronto - This morning, in Elliot Lake, Ont., lawyers for the parties involved the rescue portion of the inquiry into the collapse of the Algo Centre mall in June 2012 give their final summations.

Nov. 6, 2013, Toronto - I wasn’t sure how to react when I saw the headline on our website yesterday afternoon: Prince George fire halls to install female washrooms. I figured the department had been under pressure to get with the program and was playing catch up – to use not one, but two clichés.

Sept. 10, 2013, Elliot Lake, Ont. – I’m back in Elliot Lake this week to hear HUSAR’s Bill Neadles testify – he’s on the stand now (check back later for a story). And while I can’t be here every day, I have been paying rapt attention to the testimony, and it’s worth reviewing.

Sept. 5, 2013, Toronto – So, it turns out, the friction between the members of the OPP’s rescue team, known as UCRT, and the Toronto-based HUSAR team who were searching for victims of the Algo Centre mall collapse in Elliot Lake last summer wasn’t as bad those of us paying close attention had been led to believe.